


San Francisco - the two queen caper Part 1 of Tara is missing

by SophieD



Series: Tara is MIssing! [1]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Alice in Wonderland, Anime, Convention, Cosplay, F/F, Femslash, Red Queen - Freeform, Romance, San Francisco, Theft, elsa - Freeform, frozen, relationship angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-03-07 02:11:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3157091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieD/pseuds/SophieD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tara calls Sophie to help her grift at a cosplay convention.  Sophie is not sure its such a good idea for them to work together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	San Francisco - the two queen caper Part 1 of Tara is missing

I should have known better.  
Tara called three days ago. She has a job. She needs another grifter. A plane ticket to San Francisco will be waiting for me.  
Tara and I have often talked about working together but we never have. There’s a reason for this. Two grifters on a job rarely works. It’s too difficult to keep the lies straight, to stay on script when every grift is a moving target. Still, when she called, it didn’t matter what she asked, I would go. It’s been a couple of weeks since we saw each other and my body is aching for her. I try not to think about it or I might go crazy. I never know when or where she’ll turn up so I try to keep my need for her under control. I only think about her every night when I go to bed and every morning when I wake up alone. Despite my reservations about working together, when I heard her voice on the other end of the line, I knew I would say yes.  
I came through airport security with my head down, fiddling with my phone. Definitely something I should have known better than to do. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a golden flash. I just barely got my hand up to defend myself before being tackled by a tall lanky blonde. She wrapped me up in a bear hug, practically lifting me off the floor. Before I could react, her lips were on mine and her words were reverberating in my head. “Oh God how I miss you!”  
I drop my bag to the floor and my phone in my pocket before wrapping my hands around her neck giving her a kiss that I hope will make her toes curl. “I miss you too Tara. You have no idea how much I miss you.” “I think I do” she says as she grabs my bag and my hand and leads me through the airport to the parking lot.  
Another moment I should have anticipated. I slide into the passenger seat of Tara’s rental with a deep breath and try to relax. Boston to San Francisco is a long flight. Suddenly I am attacked again. I turn my head in time to intercept the kiss but she still pins me to the door. With a bit more privacy than the airport lobby, Tara’s hands are all over me, down my pants and up my shirt. Her fingertips leave scorched spots where ever they land. I try to push her away just a bit. “Tara! I can’t breathe!” “Sorry” she mumbles as she lets up just a bit but her hands never stop. “It’s been so long Soph!” “Its only been a couple of weeks Tara.” “One is too long. One day is too long. One minute..” “I get it!” I say with a laugh. “Who’s fault is that anyway?” Tara looks at me funny. “What?” I ask. “I don’t know” she answers. “What are you saying? I thought this was what you, we, wanted? Missing each other desperately, the anticipation, the reunion?” She smiles slyly “The sex!”  
“No. I mean yes. I mean. Bloody Hell I confused myself.” Tara laughs. “Got you all flustered huh?” she teases. I give her a slightly suggestive look. “I think what I meant was that maybe you don’t have to wait so long to call sometimes.” “Gotcha” she says as she leans close and kisses me again.  
I closed my eyes while Tara drives towards downtown San Francisco. My intention was to nap but my mind won’t stop going over what Tara said. Is she right? I’m in it for the thrill? Or do I want something more? I honestly don’t know what I would say if she ever asks me the question.  
She pulls up to the Downtown Hilton and hands the keys to the valet. Before I get out, she grabs my arm. “Promise me you’ll keep an open mind.” “What? What are you in to?” “Oh it’s really nothing” she says “C’mon” she says and pulls me toward the front door of the hotel.  
As Tara opens the door to the hotel, my senses are assaulted by a whirlwind of color and sound. The lobby is full of people, mostly teens, almost all under 30. They are talking, running around, being kids. What really throws me is that they all are in costumes of some sort, crazy colors and flashing lights, body make up and strange looking weapons. I close my eyes and my fingers go to my temples. This kind of chaos is the last thing I was expecting and it’s shaken me.  
Tara pushes me gently from behind, into the lobby, so she can close the door behind us. I turn toward her. “What the bloody hell is this?” She laughs. “It’s kumicon or kanicon or something like that.” I raise my eyebrows. “Kumeracon?” I ask. “Yeah that sounds right” she says. “How did you know that?” I sigh. “Hardison. It’s anime.” Tara stares at me. “What?” I ask. “I listen. Sometimes.” She laughs again. “No it’s not that. You wrinkled your nose? I haven’t seen you do that in years!” Damn. It’s my tell. I’ve worked for a long time to lose it, ever since Tara pointed it out to me. Every once in a while, when I really don’t like something, it still sneaks in. Figures Tara would catch it.  
“OK so you’re not an anime fan.” She laughs again. “There are some others here. A few Doctors, some StormTroopers and isn’t that the Borg chick from Star Trek?” I look where she’s pointing at a tall blonde in a very tight catsuit and electronic pieces stuck to her face. “Interesting” I say. “She kind of looks like you.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Oh I would look WAY better in that suit!” I don’t answer her and she looks at me for some sort of confirmation. “Shh” I tease. “I’m visualizing!” Another laugh and then she hits me in the arm – hard. “Ow!” I say rubbing the spot. “Oh I’ll kiss it and make it better if you want.” She laughs one more time and starts making her way through the crowded room.  
I try to follow her through the throngs of kids. I am horrified when she is almost gored by a young person in blue face paint wearing orange and yellow painted longhorns on her head. “What the hell is that?” Tara asks as she pushes the kid out of her way. Without even thinking the words “Home Stuck” pop out of my mouth. Tara turns and stares as I quickly cover my mouth with my hands, my eyes wide. Her mouth opens to ask the question and I quickly shake my head. “I don’t know” I say with a bit of horror to my voice. “It just came out. I…Damn it Hardison!” I say as I shake my head as if to dislodge something stuck in my brain. “Get out of my head!” More laughter. I’m glad someone is having fun here.  
We make it to her room without another incident. It’s obvious Tara’s been here for a day or two already from the looks of the papers on the sofa and clothes on the floor in the bedroom. This time I wrinkle my nose on purpose and I make sure she sees it. She sticks her tongue out at me. As she heads toward the bedroom, she calls over her shoulder “Get used to it!” I’m left wondering, again, what exactly she is trying to tell me.  
She comes back a few minutes later, much more subdued. She sits softly next to me. “How’re you doing Sophie?” I give her a puzzled look, not sure if she’s talking about the moment or my life. She looks as if she might say something then changes her mind. “It was a long flight. You feeling OK? You want to go out to eat? Or have something brought up?” I shrug. “You should eat something. I’ll order something. Wine?” I shake my head. The last thing I need right now is something clouding my mind. Tara has made three innocent remarks tonight. Every time, I jumped to some conclusion that she wants more from our relationship. Why do I keep thinking that? Do I want something different? The whole thing is making my head hurt. Fortunately Tara was able to convince my mind to focus on something different for a while.  
We head down to breakfast in the morning. Tara is in no hurry to talk about why we are here. We chat and people watch. Most of the kids (and quite a few adults) are already in their costumes. I’m a bit horrified about how many of them I recognize. I really need to stop paying attention to Hardison’s gibberish about cartoons and sci-fi and other things that have nothing to do with work. On the other hand, a good grifter should be able to meld into any crowd and I have to admit that I know enough to pass even in this sort of insanity.  
When the dishes are cleared, Tara finally decides it’s time to talk business. She pulls out her iPad and starts flipping through photos. She finds the one she is looking for and places the iPad on the table in front of me. I look down at a photo of what seems to be some sort of sceptre. It looks to be about 3’ long and gold with a round head studded with heart shaped rubies. I push the iPad back towards her. “Pretty. What is it?” “Besides the obvious you mean?” she asks with a smile. “Yeah you’re a comic genius” I tell her. “What’s its story?”  
“Well” she starts, “It belongs to a niece or grandniece or someone in the Hilton family.” “You mean like the hotel, Paris, Hiltons?” She nods. I rub my hands together. “Ooo I do like stealing from the rich!” She laughs again. “Well then you’ll love this because the girl is a brat and a half. Apparently she is a big fan of Alice in Wonderland. She likes to think of herself as the Red Queen. She had this made as part of her cosplay costume.” “Interesting. The Red Queen. I do love a bad girl” I say. “Is it real?” She shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably. I was hired to get it. I get paid whether it’s real or not.”  
Tara has always done this kind of contract work. She likes the challenge of going after different kinds of things and the short con. And the guaranteed payday. I have always worked more for the love of the game. I steal things that I like, usually paintings, almost always art, the more challenging the better. Sometimes I sell them. Sometimes I keep them. It’s a difference that has kept us both working and staying out of each other’s way.  
“OK” I tell her, “so I am assuming that this is not just a straight up lift then?” She shakes her head no. “It’s going to be more complicated than that. It’s going to be a trade. She can’t know that it’s gone. And she never lets it out of her sight. That’s why I needed you.” I raise my eyebrows at that. “Really? You couldn’t handle an easy lift and drop by yourself?” She shakes her head again. “No. Well maybe but it will go better with two grifters. Besides, I wanted to see you. Good enough?” I smile. “Good enough. What’s the plan?”  
Tara carefully lays out her plan for the heist. It involves my dressing as the Red Queen. Did I mention I like bad girls? And costumes. Though now it’s called ‘cosplay’ which sounds very distasteful to my ear. During one of the costume contests, I need to get close enough to the Hilton girl to make a trade. I agree with Tara that this is a two person job. With something as large as a 3’ long sceptre, a second person really needs to be there to whisk the object away. I can’t hide it and I can’t just stand there holding an identical sceptre and pretend that it’s a coincidence. Well, I could, it would be an interesting challenge but Tara doesn’t want to take the chance. I comment that it’s interesting that she’s letting me do all the heavy work on her job but she points out that she’s more the Alice type than the Red Queen. I agree, though in my mind, Parker will always be Alice White.  
The costume contest doesn’t happen until 7:00 that evening so Tara and I have time to kill. She pulls out two convention badges and we wander around the various events for a while. In the vendors’ room, she points out an adorable girl, probably around 17 or 18, working with her mother in a photo booth.  
“I talked to her yesterday” she says. “She’s a really sweet girl. I told her we would come back and do her photo book thing when we have our costumes on.” “You’re wearing a costume too?” “Of course” she says. “You don’t get to have all of the fun here!” I laugh at her. “Alice in Wonderland?” She shakes her head. “You going to tell me?” She shakes her head again. “Nope. It’s a surprise. But I promise it will be spectacular!” “I can’t wait” I tell her and she smiles. She is so beautiful to me right now that I can’t help but grab her and give her a quick kiss. “What was that for?” she asks. I shrug. “Just couldn’t help myself.” “Me either” she says as she sneaks another kiss.  
We head down to Fisherman’s Wharf for lunch and wander around for a while, killing time. I can tell Tara is getting antsy about the job so I suggest we grab an ice cream then head back to the hotel and rest for a while before we work.  
Back in the room, Tara is full of nervous energy. “Are you always like this before a job?” I ask. She shakes her head no. “I don’t know Sophie. I don’t like the waiting. Or something else? I can’t put my finger on it.” “Too many moving parts?” I suggest. She shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ve got it all worked out. It should go as planned.” “Nothing goes as planned” I tell her. “You know that. But it’s all good. You’ve got it covered. We got this.” She smiles. “You’re right. We got this.” I nod. “Now come here and try to relax” I say as I pat the bed next to me. I should have known better. I should have paid attention to her instincts. Tara’s the best. If something was bothering her, it should have bothered me too. It’s just that I had other things on my mind. Another reason Tara and I should never work together.  
She comes and sits next to me. I rest my hand on her thigh and she lays her head on my shoulder. “You want me to rub your shoulders?” I ask. She shakes her head. “You want me to rub something else?” “Mmmm. Depends.” I get off the bed and drop to my knees in front of her. I wrap my hands around her and pull her to the very edge of the bed then work her pants out from under her. She puts her hands in my hair and murmurs “mmm this might work…” I smile as I begin to work my way up the inside of her thigh, kissing and nibbling as I move closer. She sighs as she tangles her fingers tighter in my hair. I start playing with her with my fingers and she tries to pull me in closer. When she finally feels my hot mouth on her, she groans and falls back onto her hands, her head hanging back. I move slowly and rhythmically, my hands kneading her thighs where they meet her body, touching her in all the places I know she likes until her body tenses and she can’t catch her breath. I stop, just long enough for her start to squirm then go at her faster and harder until she can’t hold it back any longer. Slowly I get up and lay myself on top of her, pushing her back up on to the bed. She wraps her arms around me and whispers “Oh my God Sophie. You can rub me there any time you want.” She rolls me to her side, her arms still wrapped tight around me. I can feel her breathing slow as she falls asleep. I lay with her, feeling her warm breath on my cheek, thinking about what it would be like to have “any time I want” with Tara.  
Tara orders a snack then announces that its time we get ready. She hands me a small duffel bag and a garment bag and pushes me towards the bathroom as she starts pulling her hair into a French braid. Once there, I open the bag and pull out a pair of fish net stockings and a shiny red corset decorated with black ribbons. I call out to her “Tara! You can’t be serious!” “You’ll be the hottest Red Queen ever” she yells back. “I may be hot but I sure won’t be warm” I mutter. “What?” She yells again? “Nothing.”  
I call her in to help me tie the corset. She hasn’t gotten much farther with her costume than a messy braid pulled over her shoulder and glitter make up all over her. I keep my back turned to her. She laces up the ribbons and pulls the corset tight, squeezing the air out of me. I look down and realize that’s not the only thing that’s being squeezed out. “Tara…” She turns me around. “Oh my God” she says under her breath as she takes in the thigh high fishnets and the corset with my breasts practically popping out the top. Her eyes go straight down my front and she stares. “Tara. Tara!” “mmm Sophie…” “Tara! My eyes are up here” I say gesturing with my hands. Her eyes don’t move. “I know” she says. “Tara!” I put my hand under her chin and lift her face up to meet mine. “You have a problem!” “I know” she says with a smile. “But it’s a good problem to have.” I roll my eyes. “I remember the first night we met” I tell her playfully. “You looked down the front of my dress then too.” She looks surprised. “You saw that?” “Of course I saw that. I was just too busy checking you out to say anything.” “That’s not exactly how I remember it” she says with a smile. “Really? Are you sure?” I ask her suggestively as I take a chance with the physics of garment design and push my breasts into her. I can see her trying to fight the urge to look down again. Her fingers are twitching and I can imagine what she’s thinking. “It’s OK Tara. Just a peek though. And no touchies. You’re just going to have to wait.” I let her get another good look then turn her around and push her out of the bathroom.  
I open the garment bag and pull out a gorgeous over coat and a very short skirt. The coat is made of red velvet and trimmed in black and gold. The collar stands up and reaches almost over my head. It buttons only at the bottom giving full view of my chest. The skirt covers only enough to hide the top of the stockings. Bright red stiletto boots complete the outfit. I am playing with different hair styles when Tara comes up behind me. “Here, let me help you with that” she says as she piles my hair up on top of my head and secures it with a gold tiara. She pulls tendrils down to frame my face and declares me ‘perfect’.  
I turn around to see what she is wearing and I am stunned. Her dress is light blue and shimmering. It reaches the floor and swishes when she walks. The fabric is flexible and stretched tight, not hiding any bump or curve. Her shoulders are bare and sparkle with pale blue glitter. The whole outfit makes her eyes shine an intense blue. I try to talk but my mouth is dry. “You like?” she asks. I nod. “A lot?” I nod again and reach out with my hand. I lay my hand on her ribs and let it slide down the slick fabric to her hip before she turns away with a laugh. “No touchies remember?” My knees feel weak and I have to lean against the counter for a few seconds before I follow her out.  
Tara pulls out another duffel bag and removes the gold and ruby sceptre. I take it from her and examine it. It’s a very good, and expensive, forgery. The Hilton girl shouldn’t notice the switch unless she examines it closely. I swing it around over my head. “Off with her head!” Tara laughs. “Perfect!” she exclaims. 

We head back down to the convention floor and walk arm in arm through the crowds. I would like to think that it was me that was turning heads but I am pretty sure it was Queen Elsa gliding along next to me generating the stares and whispers. Tara checks the time and we head to the ballroom where the costume contest will be conducted. Sorry. ‘Cosplay characters’. I was reminded more than once that costuming was no longer the correct word for what we were doing there.  
The contest is separated into individual judging by popular characters. Elsa comes up before the Red Queen and I push Tara up onto the stage. She shoots me dirty looks the whole time but is still far and away the best character up there and easily walks away with the prize, a hearty handshake and a few wolf whistles from the crowd.  
As the Red Queens take the stage, Tara gives me a kiss and wishes me good luck. I position myself on the stage next to the target, the Hilton girl. Tara is next to the stage behind me. The fake sceptre is in my hand. All I need is a distraction… and that is provided by the ridiculous boots Tara put me in. I snag my heel on the carpet and fall forward into the girl, knocking her down and landing on top of her. While we scramble to separate ourselves and try to regain some of our dignity, I make the switch. She grabs the fake sceptre and gives me a hateful look before moving to the other end of the stage. I slide the real sceptre behind me as I move backwards where Tara takes it and disappears.  
All I want to do now is disappear myself. I try to back off the stage when someone grabs me and pushes me to the front for my moment of fame. I take my winner’s handshake with a smile and leave the room as quickly as the crowd will let me.  
I meet Tara back in the room. She’s already ordered champagne and strawberries to celebrate our victory. She’s thrown the sceptre on the bed and I examine it while I drink my wine. “I think it’s real Tara. Look here. The gold is soft enough that I can scratch it. And I’m pretty sure these are real rubies and diamonds.” She just watches me without comment. “This thing is probably worth a fortune.” I continue. “It’s too bad you already have a buyer. I wouldn’t mind having something like this around.” She raises her eyebrows. “To hit Hardison with?” I laugh. “Yeah that might work.”  
Tara finishes her glass and comes to me. She grabs the sceptre away and throws it on the floor. She then takes my hands and pulls me to standing. She makes a point to look down my front again and tells me “you promised me I could touch”. “I did, did I? Help me get out of this thing then” I tell her. She softly runs her fingers across the top of my breasts then reaches around back to loosen the ribbon on my corset. When it’s loose enough, she pulls it up over my head and puts her hands back on my breasts. The whole time her eyes never leave my chest.  
Fair is fair and I put my hands on Tara where her dress is pulled tight across her hips. The stretched fabric is warm to touch and feels like soft silky skin. I can’t help but to run my hands over her from her hips to her breasts. Without my coat and corset, I’m wearing nothing but my stockings and boots and I can tell it’s driving Tara a little crazy. I pull her close to me, enjoying the way her ‘second skin’ feels against mine. She kisses me while I gently rub myself against her. We turn together and she lowers me to the bed. She’s sitting on her knees on the bed between my feet as she pulls my boots off. Next she slowly rolls my stockings down, one at a time, follow their trail with gentle kisses down my leg. Her fingers trace back up as she pulls herself onto me, lowering her mouth to my breast. I feel a catch in my breath as she begins to explore with her mouth.  
I am still fascinated with the warm, slick fabric of her dress. I run my hands up and down her sides and back. I let her sink her knee between my legs and I slide on to it, holding her there with my knees. “You like the dress?” she asks as she pushes harder with her knee. “Yeah” I say, my voice hoarse. “I like the dress.” My fingers find the zipper in the back and I slowly slide it down. “I like this too” I say as my hands find bare skin. “Do you want me to take it off?” she asks again, moving her knee against me. I close my eyes. “No not yet” I croak as it gets harder to catch my breath. She slowly pulls her knee away as she leans down to kiss me. “Tara!” I whine. “Not yet my love. Patience.” She whispers as she begins to work her way down my body with her lips and her tongue. I squirm underneath her, trying to hurry her but she takes her time. Finally, she slides her fingers inside of me and I cry out. She begins to move with me, rubbing me with the heel of her hand until I cry out again. She slows for a few seconds and then starts again. I try to speak. “Bloody Hell Tara.” She laughs as she brings me past my breaking point again. She lays her head on my stomach, she likes to do that, until I have recovered.  
I am still flat out on the bed, my eyes closed, enjoying the tingling feeling in my body and Tara’s weight on top of me. She rolls away from me and goes to get another glass of champagne. When she comes back, her dress is gone. I give her an approving look and she smiles then hands me the glass to drink. When it’s empty, I drop it onto the floor then pull her down on me again. I carefully pull her hair from its braid and let it fall around her face. “You are so beautiful Tara.” I tell her.  
Her face is very close to mine. I’m looking into her sparkling blue eyes when she decides to talk. “Sophie. You are…I…” she pauses, choosing her next words carefully. “I miss you when we’re not together.” I hear her words but it’s her eyes that are speaking the truth. I see the words she wants to say just like I see the flash of uncertainty, of fear even. Her words would have been against the rules. My rules. Her rules. Keep it casual. No commitments. No emotions. We’ve said the ‘L-word’ before but never in seriousness. To say that now, it would be contrary to everything we say we want. I fight back a tear. I would have told her I love her too, how I’ve always loved her, how I think I always will. Instead, I whisper “I miss you too Tara.”  
We share a kiss that feels like the words that we can’t say. She settles in next to me, our noses almost touching. We make love slowly this time. Deliberately. Letting our fingers trace shapes and lines, finding familiar places. Everything is perfect now. I have nothing I want to say. I just want to be. Want Tara to be. To make this moment last forever. She pulls me close into her and we come together and the moment is perfect.  
Tara falls asleep with her arms around me, my head on her shoulder. I lie awake and think about words we didn’t say and what they would mean if we did. This relationship, this obsession, whatever it is, could it last in real life? Because this isn’t real. It’s all fantasy, a dress up game like the kids downstairs play. It’s satisfying and heartbreaking at the same time. I just don’t know if I want the rules to change, if I ever could. Tara rolls into me, covering me with her leg and a deep sigh. I let her touch soothe me and finally drift off to sleep.  
When I wake in the morning, Tara is gone. I raise my fist and let it fall hard onto the bed next to me. Leaving abruptly, no goodbye, no explanation, it’s kind of our thing but it still hurts every time. I get out of bed, rubbing my temples where they ache from too much champagne. I still have the room for a couple of hours so I go to draw myself a bath. On the counter is a scribbled note. “Have biz. Back soon. T” I smile, the sick, lonely feeling in my stomach subsiding.  
By the time Tara returns, I am wrapped in a robe, propped up by pillows on the bed, flipping through a magazine full of tourist propaganda. She comes flying in, a big smile on her face. She drops a thick envelope onto the bed next to me. “It’s done.” She says. I pick up the envelope and ruffle through the big stack of $100 bills. “Nice. Well done.” “We should celebrate!” she says. Before I can answer, the phone in her pocket rings.  
She answers the phone, listening carefully as I watch her face change from pleased to concerned to angry. “Ok thanks” she tells the person on the end of the line. She presses the button to hang up her phone, stares at it for a second then turns and throws it hard against the wall. “Tara?!” She turns back to me and I can see the fire in her eyes. “Get dressed Sophie. We need to go. NOW!” I hurry to get dressed while she quickly shoves her things into her bag. She’s starting to pace with impatience when I finally get my stuff together. She’s retrieved her phone and the envelope of money is stuck down the back of her jeans, hidden by her sweater. “Tara? What is it? What’s wrong?” “The girl knows.” She says in a calm quiet voice, a stark contrast to wild emotions I see on her face. “What do you mean she knows? She can’t. The switch was good.” “I know” she says, her voice still quiet. “Someone told her.” “What? Why? How?” She looks at me and her eyes sparkle with anger. “We…I’ve been set up.” “Bloody Hell!” I say. “Who?” “I don’t know” she says. “But I’m going to find out. First you need to go.” “What?” I ask, the pitch of my voice rising. “No. We’re in this together. We’ll fix it together.” “No Sophie” she says in a voice that doesn’t offer any chance for argument. “This is my problem. You’re out. I’m not taking that chance.” I want to ask her ‘what chance’ but she’s halfway out the door. The conversation is over.  
We leave without checking out of the hotel. Tara drives the rental car around until she finds a dumpster and drops her phone in it. She then turns the opposite way and heads toward the San Francisco airport. She drops the rental car in the back of the lot and leaves the paperwork inside. “They’ll figure it out” she says. We catch the bus to the terminal then onto another rental car bus. She rents a second car, paying in cash and using a clean ID. On the way out she drops the ID into the trash. She’s starting to make me paranoid now. “Tara. Tell me. What is going on?” I ask as she drives the new car off the lot. “There’s things I’ve done.” She says. “Things that I’m not proud of.” “Haven’t we all?” I ask trying to lighten the mood a bit. She just glares at me. “This is bad” she says. “Really bad. I can’t explain but its dangerous now. For me and anyone around me.” “Tara!” I beg her. “Let me help. I can help. Hell, I’ll call the team. If anyone can help… at least let me call Eliot. This is what he does.” She glares at me again. I decide to let it ride for a while. Nothing I can say right now is going to make her feel better. She’s scared and that scares me too. I’ll do what she says. I’ll go home but I’ll be back with my team behind me.  
Tara drives like a crazy person, not unlike the way Parker drives, towards San Jose. At this airport, she drops the car again without turning in the paper work. Inside the terminal, she buys 2 first class tickets to Mexico City, using the ID’s she used for the original tickets and hotel reservation. She tears both tickets into pieces and drops them into a trash can along with the IDs. She gives me cash to buy a ticket back to Boston with one of my own identities. At the counter she turns to me. “I’m sorry Soph. I’m sorry you’re in the middle of this. I hope it doesn’t come back at you.” “Tara. It’s ok.” “No it’s not. I should never have gotten you involved.” She gives me a kiss and squeezes my hand hard. As she turns away from me, I call to her. “Will you be alright?” She turns back and smiles. “I’m always alright.” I blink and she’s gone.  
I think hard about the events of the weekend on the plane ride home. Two grifters. Two distracted grifters. We were right never to work together. Maybe if I hadn’t been there, Tara would have seen a sign, maybe she  
would have paid attention to her instincts. Maybe she would still be there for me. Yes, I should have known better. Still, knowing what I know now, if Tara ever calls me again, I know I will be there in a heartbeat.


End file.
